REVIEW OF X-33 HYPERSONIC AERODYNAMIC AND AEROTHERMODYNAMIC DEVELOPMENT

摘要

A review of the experimental and computationalrnstudies performed at NASA Langley ResearchrnCenter (LaRC) to support the optimization andrnbenchmarking of the hypersonic aerodynamicrnand aerothermodynamic databases for the X-33rnvehicle is presented. A synoptic of the testing,rncomputational, and analysis capabilities atrnLaRC applied to these studies is given. Analysesrnof the hypersonic aerodynamic characteristics,rncontrol surface effectiveness, and reactionrncontrol system effects are discussed. Experimentalrnmeasurement of the aerodynamic heatingrnvia the global thermographic phosphorrntechnique and development of a hypersonicrnboundary-layer transition correlation for X-33rnis described. Computational results used torncomplement the experimental program and tornassess the vehicle aerodynamic and aerothermodynamicrncharacteristics in flight are presented.rnThe technical findings, impacts, andrnlessons learned from the studies are discussed.